VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Headlight relay for halogen lights

I installed my halogen lights but the current draws more than 15amps,so it blew a fuse. I'm afraid to go to a 20 amp fuse because the dimmer and light switch might not be able to stand the extrta current. I need a 6 volt relay between the dimmer and the headlights. It would require two relays,one for bright wire and one for dim dim wire. Where can I get this ? Am I thinking right on this? Something like the link shows maybe.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e..._id=&ua=WVI7&itemid=350247109257

Thats what you want. They were added to the head light circuit years ago to make the head lights brighter. They would be added close to the light and this would eleminate the current loss at the wiring, head light switch, and dimmer switch.

Yor 1938 Chevrolet orignally came with a 20 AMP fuse and the 30 AMP was recommended for heavy duty. In 1939 they increased the fuse to a 30 AMP to eleminate the fuse problem as extra lights were used. That may be all you need.

Education is beautiful. I was afraid to go any higher on the fuse size. THANKS Will I need 2 or are there combination 6V relays that service the bright and dim lines ?

If the relay is installed "before" the dimmer switch you will need only one. For this I would suggest a new dimmer switch to insure no power loss through bad contacts.
The ideal way would be to have one for high and one for low beams and they should be wired into the circuit as close to the head lights as possible so as to prevent power loss due to old wiring.
A relay is almost a must with sealed beams. Not sure about the Halogen, the halogen gas may burn bright with any voltage close to 6 volts.
A good ground is also necessary for nice bright lights. You can experiment with the ground by running a seperate wire (as a test) from the light (reflector) to the battery ground terminal. If the lights brighten up with the test geound you will know that you have further work to do.

The Halogen lights burn 65/55 watts per blub at 6 volts. Thay's enought to blow a 15amp fuse. It would be close at 20 amp fuse levels. I think I'll go to NAPA and see if they have a coupe of 6V relays. I'll have to run a 6V power supply to the new relays from the battery. . I wish I had known this before I swapped from sealbeams to halogen. I didn't see any footnote says "Relays may be needed"

The 65 watts is twice of what the original bulbs were. From my experiance the high draw can make the old wires very hot. May be a good idea to run 14 Ga. wire (or at least new 16 Ga) from the relay to the lights and from the battery to the relay.
Also the lights will be drawing more amps than a 1938 generator can supply - or at least as much.

From your other thread I thought you were removing the halogen lights if favor of the original headlamps????? The originals don't need a relay.

I'm removing the sealbeams and installing orginal glass with halogen bulbs. The problem is the halogen bulbs pull to many amps. They need a relay to protect the dimmer switch and headlight switch and wiring. I'm trying to locate 2 6v headlight relays. They're hard to find.

This is just a suggestion and an encouraging word in support of keeping everything original.

Questions to ask yourself:

a. Why do I need brighter lights? The old ones were bright enough to light the highway nicely and enough to require a dimmer switch in order to avoid blinding the other driver and thus causing head-on collisions.

b. Loss of originality.

c. Avoidance of opening Pandora's Box with all the ills associated with amperage, wires, relays, generator problems, modifications and such.

e. Are you really sure that with good reflectors, new braided wiring, good slightly higher wattage bulbs (within the capabilities of the generator and all other components) and a really good continuity to ground, that the unmodified light system is not sufficient for your needs and, overall, a better choice.

The final choice, of course, is yours and I wish you success in whatever choice you make. Best, Charlie

It's not going to be 100% correct or a showcar. It's hard to keep everthing orginal,but I do want the appearance of a 1938 chevrolet coupe. It already has some non orginal features,such as a 6V alternator and a 235 ci engine instead of a 216ci engine (althugh I have the orginal 216 ci engine)and now halogen bulbs instead of factory bulbs. The sealbeams stuck out like a sore thumb. At least I have the bugeye lenses now. I also have several chrome parts which did not come chrome but are duplicates of the orginals. I'm a sucker for chrome on these old cars. The vrod and valve cover and pushrod cover and a few more should not be chrome, but that's just what I like.I know you guys like 100% correct but mine will never be that. I will try to keep the authentic appearance as much as possible.

Chevs of the 40s is sending me their last 2 6v relays they have for the headlights. I'd hate to burn everything down just for more headlight brightness.

I noticed RichK mentions the halogen swap in his car. Maybe he can help also. See the post "1937 Master Deluxe" down the first page.

Thanks for the tip. I'm sure many 6volt guys have gone to halogen blubs instead of making the big move to 12volts.

A word of caution on the relays. You MUST have a relay that is rated for continuous use.

Chevs of the 40s has the exact one I need. It says 6v headlight relay for 37-53 cars and trucks. They told me it was for headlights only. Horn relays and all the others would not work. I hope it works.

http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/10727/Chevrolet_HEADLIGHT_RELAY_VOLT.html

I bought the last two they had. We'll see.

What's wrong with the guy on ebay that shows 10 of them left at $24 each? Did Chevs of the 40's clean him out and are they reselling them for $30???
DG

Chevs of the 40s are new. I'm not sure about the Ebay guy. I'm sure someone else has these relays,I'm just saying they are hard to come by. The photo on Ebay didn't look that good.

For what it is worth, I am using the halogen replacement bulbs. I have a new wiring harness, new headlight switch and new high/low beam switch. I also have a 63 amp 6v internally regulated alternator. I have had no issues with fuses, hot wires or any other problems. My main issue now is that I need to get my reflectors resilvered. I have information on a product that supposedly will resilver by using a special cloth to rub a silver compound over the metal. The cloth generates a static charge and actually replates the metal. I do know one guy that has used it on some household products and he said it gave acceptable results. My other option is to buy new reflectors.

Unlike some, I am more interested in bright lights at night than being a purist. I take the car to events and out to dinner frequently so the return trip is always in the dark. Some of my driving is on unlighted rural roads and I was not satisfied with the output from the original lights.

Rich

If your reflectors arn not perfectly shiney silver the lights will not be bright no matter what you do. That being said the sealed beams will be brighter than a bulb head light.
If it were my car I would consider resilvering the resilvering the reflectors and adding a good sized pair of sealed beam fog lights with clear lenses.

I have good luck having the local chrome shop nickel the Brass reflectors as nickel is a step in the chroming process and they are set up to do it,Everyday.Not original but most wouldn't know and I believe it is as reflective as silvering.

From what I have read, chrome is not appropriate for use in headlight reflectors. It has to do with the reflective properties of the metal. Silver is the prefered surface for reflecting light.

Gene,

I will either replace or resilver the reflectiors that I have now. I was considering the use of sealed beams, but, at least for now, that is out.

Rich

The reflectivity of silver is about 95%. The reflectivity of nickel plating is far less and, at 67%, chrome has even less reflectivity. Both nickel and chrome plating are far too poor to be used for lighting and optical purposes and neither is recommended for use on headlight reflectors.

I stand corrected, but since I do not have Silvering available here locally, I will most likely continue to use nickel when needed as these vehicles will most likely never be driven after dark, mostly museum pieces.

This is the DIY silver plating I mentioned above.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/silverpl.htm

Rich

Call me chicken. I could put a 25 amp fuse in it and it more than likely would work fine,but my old wiring is fraile. I've replaced some of it but the part located where the dimmer switch is located is still yet old. Opinions vary on how much the old wiring could take. I know the math isn't wrong. 65w x 6volts x 2= close to 20 amps. Thats double the load from the orginal lights. For $60 I think I'll add the 2 relays and protect the old car. I am glad to hear someone else enjoys seeing at night even if the car isn't orginal. The bugeye lenses really make the car look like a 30s car. The sealbeams look like something added.